Page 200 - City of Fort Worth Budget Book

Glossary and Acronyms

Deficit: (1) The excess of the liabilities of a fund over its assets. (2) The excess of expenditures over revenues
during an accounting period, or, in the case of proprietary funds, the excess of expenses over revenues during an
accounting period.
Delegated Authority: The City Council authorizes and delegates to the City Manager, or his designee, the
authority to transfer appropriations within and among departments and funds, in a cumulative amount not to
exceed the total amount appropriated for each purpose. This authority is used for items such as separation pay,
contractual services, elections, and training initiatives.

Delinquent Taxes: Taxes that remain unpaid on and after the date due, after which a penalty for nonpayment is
attached.

Department: A major administrative division of the city that indicates overall management responsibility for an
operation or group of related operations within a functional area.
Depreciation: The process of estimating and recording the lost usefulness or expired useful life from a fixed
asset that cannot or will not be restored by repair and will be replaced. The cost of the fixed asset's lost
usefulness is the depreciation or the cost to reserve to replace the item at the end of its useful life.

Disbursement: Payment for goods and services in cash or by check.

Effective Rate: The rate that would generate the same amount of levy as last year’s rate based on the current
year’s values. This terminology is now known as the No-New-Revenue Tax Rate.

Effectiveness: A measure of how adequately the intended purpose is accomplished and the intended or
expected results are produced.

Encumbrance: The commitment of appropriated funds to purchase an item or service. Committed funds become
encumbered when a purchasing requisition becomes an actual purchase order.

Enterprise Fund: Proprietary fund type used to report an activity for which a fee is charged to external users for
goods or services. Enterprise funds within the City of Fort Worth are established for services such as water and
sewer, parking facilities, airports, and solid waste management.

Estimated Revenue: The amount of projected revenue to be collected during the fiscal year. It may also be
defined as the proposed financing sources estimated to finance the proposed projected expenditure.

Exemption: Excluding all or part of property value from taxation.
Expenditure (Governmental Funds): Decreases in the use of net financial resources other than through inter-
fund transfer. Expenditures include current operating expenses requiring the present or future use of net current
assets; debt service and capital outlays; and intergovernmental grants, entitlements, and shared revenues.

Expenses (Proprietary Funds): Outflow or other depletion of assets or incurrence of liabilities during a specific
period that results from the delivery or production of goods, rendering of services, or carrying out other activities
that constitute the entity's ongoing major central operations.

External Indicator: External entity data that is used to evaluate city progress toward Council goals. External
indicators can be used as key performance indicators for strategic-level objectives, but they must be used in
coordination with internal measures. Data sources could include TXDOT (Texas Department of Transportation),
the T (the Fort Worth Transportation Authority), TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality),
TRWD (Texas Regional Watering District), NCTCOG (North Central Texas Council of Governments), or the
Chamber of Commerce.

Fiduciary Funds: Fiduciary funds are used to account for assets that the city holds in trust for the benefit of other
specified entities or individuals and that are unavailable for the city’s purposes.

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